Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed is one of the best returning players in college football ahead of next season. Reed had a strong start to the 2025 season and led the Aggies to the College Football Playoff, despite a rocky finish that ended with an 11-2 record.
Reed faced a storm of criticism after his lethargic performances in the rivalry game against the Texas Longhorns and the loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Johnny Manziel Defends Marcel Reed, Tells Aggies Fans to Back Their Quarterback
During Friday’s segment of the “Glory Daze” podcast, former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel defended Reed’s inconsistent finish to the season and admonished Aggies fans over their criticism of the talented quarterback.
“I believe we still didn’t have our best running back until the Miami game, we had an ever-shifting, revolving door of running backs and some injuries here and there,” Manziel said. “For Marcel, he needs to continue developing as a passer. He needs to develop with the receivers and we will be better this year.
“I hate it when people say, ‘We’ve got this new quarterback coming in, ‘ or ‘ We need to play the backup.’ Shut the hell up! Support a guy, the way you supported me. You supported me with the rock to lead our program. Marcel has done a good job of progressing as a football player and as a leader and it’s everything that you’d want.”
Despite his rocky finish to the 2025 season, Reed is still among the early favorites to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy next season, in a field headlined by quarterbacks Arch Manning and CJ Carr.
J.D. Pickell Challenges Marcel Reed to Prove He’s Among College Football’s Best
During a March 4 segment of the “Hard Count” podcast, On3 analyst J.D. Pickell issued a challenge to Reed about his performances ahead of next season.
“I want to hear the Marcel Reed buzz at the same level that the John Mateer buzz was last year, or two years ago, the Cam Ward buzz,” Pickell said. “If you’re hearing things about Marcel Reed truly being a dude now in that offense to a different degree, that would fire me up.”
“I still want to hear, ‘Hey, he is dialed in, he’s playing confident, he’s got his feet in the ground.’ When Marcel Reed played confident, feet-in-the-ground kind of football last year, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC and all of college football.”
Last season, Reed earned a PFSN College QB Impact score of 83.6, tallying 3,169 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while adding 493 rushing yards and 6 scores.
